Intune is a cloud-based solution for MDM and endpoint management.
The most important thing for me is the autopilot feature. Other products have this capability but they have to first integrate with Azure. Because Intune is a Microsoft product, you don't have to do anything explicitly to get this feature working properly.
Microsoft really needs to improve the reporting in Intune. It doesn't come anywhere close to VMware Workspace when it comes to their reports. I am sure that Microsoft will improve but at the moment, they are underperforming in terms of reporting.
There is a feature called dynamic groups, which populates users and computers based on a query that is written, and it runs at some interval. I would like to see this updated more frequently so that the users don't have to fair for too long before computers appear in the group.
I would like to see the ability to deploy custom packages as a Windows 64-bit package, as opposed to the Windows 32-bit, which is the only one available now. Although it can run in 64-bit mode, I would like to see this supported natively.
I have been working with Microsoft Intune for about two years. I have changed companies since that time and we are now evaluating Intune for use in my new organization.
Intune is a stable product and it has improved a lot over the past year. This is something that Microsoft is always working on, and I think that it will continue to improve.
We have not had the chance to test scalability. We will have the real results when it is put into the field.
I have not been directly in contact with the support for Intune. Rather, when I have needed assistance, I went through a partner channel.
I set up Intune without any assistance.
The price of Intune is included with the license for Office 365, so we don't have to pay anything extra for it.
We are currently evaluating both Microsoft Intune and VMware Workspace, and we will choose the one that best suits our use cases. Our plan is to implement one of these products in a couple of months.
One of the conditions is that we have to make sure that it supports all of the devices that we have in the enterprise. For example, we have Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS devices that need support.
Second, we need to have the autopilot experience for the users running under Windows. If somebody joins the company and they are provided with a laptop then we need to have it set up correctly. Normally, when it ships from a vendor such as Dell, Lenovo, or HP, it will come with their software pre-installed. Given the current situation with employees working at home, the laptop ships directly to where they live. At this point, with autopilot, they should be able to log in using their cloud credentials as soon as the device is switched on.
Once logged in, all of the details will be picked up from Azure, including the policies, updates, and other mandatory software such as Skype, Zoom, and Microsoft Office. Essentially, it eliminates all of the laptop setup and configuration that used to happen inside the organization.
Intune supports autopilot natively through Azure, and VMware Workspace is on par with this as well.
Next, it should have good reporting features. All products are able to generate reports, but we should be able to customize them in the way that we want.
We also have to have good security, where we can push all of the security configuration and policies that our organization has. This will differ based on the department. For example, security in banking or finance will be different from the security in manufacturing.
Finally, we should be able to deploy applications all over the cloud.
I think that in comparison, VMware Workspace is a more mature product than those offered by competing vendors. It has been developed very intelligently. The UI is good, with fancy graphics. They also have Smart Groups, and a different way of deploying applications, which are very good features.
VMware Workspace also has a slight advantage over Intune when it comes to managing multiple hierarchies. Intune does not support this type of structure, where you can have sublevels. For example, I can have a root-level like Europe with sublevels such as the UK, Germany, and France.
The suitability of this product depends on your environment, requirements, and use cases. If you have a reporting-extensive company, for example, then you may need to look for other products. Similarly, if you are a multi-hierarchy organization with a presence around the globe, then Intune may disappoint you.
Given all of the factors and things to consider, including features and cost, I would say that Intune has a slight edge over competing products.
I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.